Chapter 10

"Uncle!" a very familiar voice shouted through the phone speaker piece. And it wasn't even on speaker. Izuna jumped and fumbled with the phone, accidentally hitting the speaker button. The other voice on the line continued, "Where have you taken my men!?"

Sakura looked around as everything began making sense. She watched as the eight men littered around the room slowly began to get up, rubbing at their aches and pulling off their masks. She recognized some of these people instantly. No wonder their moves looked so familiar.

Her eyes zeroed in on Izuna's phone as the man on the other line continued to berate his uncle, "You better not be doing something stupid again like your pranks on Senju-san!" Izuna flinched at the words and then grouched when he saw Tobirama's smirk.

"Actually, he is, Sasuke-kun," Tobirama called out loud enough to be heard. The speaker on the other line was quiet for a moment. Sakura was sure her best friend was fuming and possible foaming at the mouth. She counted to three before the younger Uchiha started berating Izuna again.

"Uncle! My stage actors are not for you to employ for such purposes! Although it's better than hiring actual thugs! But that's not the point!" Sasuke was beyond pissed and by the sounds of it, this wasn't the first time, "And you lot!" he said loud enough for his stage actors to hear, "Just because he's my uncle and he pays well does not mean you follow along with his stupid plans! Again! You're all cleaning the studio this time. With toothbrushes!"

The eight men collectively groaned at the punishment and Sasuke heard it loud and clear because he responded to their whining, "If you have a problem, I'll send you out to Gai and Lee's!"

The eight men stood ramrod straight and shouted collectively, "No sir!"

Sasuke sucked his teeth, completely unimpressed by their obvious reaction. "Get to it then," he addressed them before talking to Izuna again, "Uncle, I will tell Madara-oji and Father about this. Next time," he paused as if considering something more horrifying, "I will tell Mother."

Oh yeah, that was much worse. Right up there with Kushina-san.

Izuna gasped, appropriately horrified before hanging his head in shame, "Nephew!" he pleaded as the boy ignored the cry and ended the call.

Sakura took a moment to absorb the situation. She glanced at her boss, "Is he broken?" Tobirama gave an amused grunt for her efforts and crossed his arms, "Give him a moment to recover."

Izuna pocketed his cellphone and turned towards them again. He suddenly rose to his full height and got up close to the pair, "Don't think this means I'm giving up!" He pointed at Tobirama accusingly, "I will get the better of you one day! You can't keep winning forever!"

The Senju merely glanced at the pinkette beside him, "You can keep trying, but you're just going to have to try harder from now on." Izuna stomped his foot and rushed over the Sakura, getting in her face. She flinched and resisted the urge to lean back. Izuna glared at her and examined her face. "Where have I seen you before..." he muttered to himself, pink hair wasn't exactly a common feature. Shae made the mistake of blinking because he looked into her eyes and something clicked in his mind. He gasped, "I remember now!" He reeled back and looked her up and down, "But you were definitely!"

He looked between Tobirama and her and exclaimed, "Unless!" Tobirama's eyebrows pinched together, the idiot was making less sense by the second.

Izuna stepped back with a skip before giving the pair a cheshire grin. Tobirama didn't like it. Didn't like that Izuna knew something that he didn't. Something about his assistant that the Senju was not privy to.

Izuna caught the look on Tobirama's face and definitely saw something in the Senju's eyes and it made his little discovery all the more rewarding. "Oh, I'll definitely have to hear about this from Mada-nii later," his smile persisted. He turned away and promised to send the eight men their pays by midnight before leaving the room.

The stage actors shrugged to themselves before walking over to the remaining duo and bowing apologetically. They didn't realize it wasn't a staged stunt. Some of them seemed to recognize Sakura as well, but she gave them a cold stare, daring them to out her. None of them did. Smart boys, they were.

The larger group left leaving just Sakura and Tobirama behind. She turned to her boss, "Now what?"

Tobirama looked around for the breaker, "We'll turn off the power and then head back. Dinner sounds good right about now."

Sakura smiled gently, "Understood, Tobirama-sama." Her boss glanced at her just then and froze for a fraction of a second, but she still saw it. She cocked her head to the side, worried he might not be fine after all. Her lips thinned and her eyebrows creased in worry, "Tobirama-sama, are you sure you're fine?"

The man shook himself out of his stupor before nodding at her, "Yes, I'm fine. Let's go." He turned and left without looking back. Sakura quickly found the breaker near the exit and flipped it to cut the power before following after her boss. She hurried the last few steps to make it to the door before he did, holding it open for him. When he exited, she followed and locked up. They entered the car again and were driven back to headquarters.

Once inside the building again they entered the elevator and Sakura pushed a button that wasn't their office floor's. Tobirama glanced at the panel, "Where are we going?" Sakura smiled again, delighted that they were getting food and that yay, the electronics were working again.

"We're heading to the Akimichi Cafe on the thirtieth floor. They're the best cooks in the city, and they also serve the freshest fish. How does unagi kabayaki sound, sir?" she turned to the older man.

Tobirama watched her for a moment, stunned by her bold decision. He merely nodded in approval before watching the number at the top of the elevator flitter.

x

Author's Note: I didn't have the tools to keep working on that IKEA wardrobe, so here you go.